The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is urging horse owners to vaccinate their animals as soon as possible to protect against West Nile virus (WNV).

“Now is the time to vaccinate for this mosquito-borne disease due to our extremely wet winter and Washington’s history of leading the nation with equine cases of the West Nile virus,” said state veterinarian Brian Joseph, DVM.

In 2016 Washington had 27 confirmed equine WNV cases, seven of which died or were euthanized. In 2015, there were 36 confirmed cases statewide.

The WNV vaccines have proven to be effective if administered to horses early enough for protection before mosquito season. The first confirmed case last year was reported in late July by Washington State University’s Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Pullman. Ten counties reported cases in 2016, involving horses in Benton, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, and Yakima counties. Spokane County lead with eight cases